Editor's note: ASU News is highlighting some of its notable incoming students for fall 2023.
In April, Arizona State University announced that the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in downtown Los Angeles would be part of the expansion of fashion education at ASU.
The new fashion program, ASU FIDM, which includes the FIDM community and campus, will operate in both Los Angeles and Phoenix. The program combines FIDM’s history and legacy within the fashion industry with ASU’s focus on innovation.
Jared Wall has been taking general education and art classes at Sierra College, a two-year institution in his hometown of Rocklin, California, north of Sacramento. He had been intending to apply to FIDM when he heard about the ASU expansion.
“I wanted to stick with the school because I really like the campus and the programs,” he said.
“I knew ASU was a credible school and I know some people who go there. But I didn’t even know ASU had a fashion program and I looked it up and didn’t know it’s a huge thing. That was really cool.”
So Wall applied to the new ASU FIDM program in Los Angeles, for fall 2023, majoring in fashion design. In fact, he was the first student to be registered in the new ASU FIDM program.
Through ASU FIDM, Wall will be able to connect with some of the world’s most recognizable brands and companies in the fashion industries.
Wall answered some questions from ASU News.
Question: Have you always been interested in fashion and design?
Answer: Since middle school I’ve dressed, not outlandishly, but I’ve had more of a care for my clothing than a lot of people my age. No one in my family is focused on fashion, but my mom is a very creative person and that’s where I get it from.
In high school, I took photography all four years and I took a drawing class and printing class, and in my two years at Sierra I took acrylic painting and photography, and this last semester I took a fashion course and a course in basic clothing construction.
Originally, I was thinking about doing fashion styling, but I then I figured that styling is more narrow and design involves all aspects of fashion.
Q: Who is your favorite designer?
A: I think my favorite era has been the 1970s and Yves Saint Laurent was prevalent in the ‘70s. My favorite textiles and materials to work with have always been denim and leather, and Saint Laurent does a lot of denim and leather clothing. I’ve been attracted to that chic streetwear, with that sharp and sleek silhouette.
Q: What are you most excited to experience during your first semester?
A: I’m really excited to live somewhere else and I’ll be living right in the middle of the fashion district. I’ll be in a new environment that is more fashion focused than where I live now. You don’t see a lot of appreciation for different fashion in Rocklin and there’s not a lot of diversity. Experiencing that new environment will be good for my education and my creativity.
Q: What talents and skills are you bringing to the ASU community?
A: I have had a creative background since I was young and I have the ability to grow as a creative person because my style and medium has changed over the years. I have an adaptive personality when it comes to what I can produce in my art.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your college years?
A: Networking with different companies and brands and people.
When it comes down to it, there is no right or wrong with fashion design. It is a lot of who you know and what you know. A degree is super helpful but it comes down to your portfolio because they want to see what you can do.
Getting an education and creating a strong portfolio and meeting people will be exciting.
Q: What’s one interesting fact about yourself?
A: I have a reselling business that I’ve made a lot of profit on, and it’s helped me to learn a lot about textiles and trend forecasting. I do a lot of reselling on Depop (a peer-to-peer social e-commerce company). That’s been a really cool thing.
More Sun Devil community
After 20 years in gymnastics, ASU Law grad finds new purpose in sports industry
For Peyton Valdez, sports have never just been competitions — they’ve been community, identity and home. After spending 20 years as a gymnast, she found herself searching for a new way to stay…
ASU Online helps grad move forward, succeed on own terms
Hardie Kressler planned to stay in the Northeast for college, enrolling at a school not far from his home in Rumson, New Jersey. But, in 2020, before beginning his freshman year, Kressler experienced…
Public servant, Navajo legislator earns Outstanding Graduate distinction
Myron Tsosie is the fall 2025 Outstanding Graduate for ASU’s College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. Courtesy photo Rep. Myron Tsosie, a member of the…